Ciabatta

By lorik

Ingredients

• For the Biga:
• 2 cups bread flour (264 g)
• 1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (2 g)
• 1 cup room temperature water (225 g)
• For the Bread:
• 3 cups bread flour (396 g)
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast (11.7 g)
• 2 teaspoons Kosher salt (7 g)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water (351 g)
• Biga (above)
• Variation by Dana Olsen:
• Biga (12-18 hours ahead) :
• 1 cup (250 mL) lukewarm water
• 1 cup (150 g) bread flour
• 1 cup (150 g) whole wheat flour
• 1 pinch dry instant yeast
• Dough:
• 180 g Biga (half of above recipe)
• 2 ⅓ cups (580 mL) lukewarm water
• 3 ¼ cups (485 g) bread flour
• 1 ½ tsp (5 g) dry instant yeast
• 2 ½ tsp (12.5 g) salt

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from food52.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. The night before you want to make the bread, mix the biga. In a medium bowl, mix the ingredients just until combined. Cover with plastic wrap, and let sit in a cool, dry place overnight.

2. When you're ready to make the bread, mix the flour, yeast, and salt to combine in a large bowl. Add the water and the biga and mix (with your hands or a wooden spoon) until the mixture comes together to form a ball.

3. Continue to mix by hand until the dough develops some gluten structure and appears smoother in texture, 4 to 5 minutes. The dough will be very sticky (almost soupy) -- never fear, that’s how it’s supposed to be! Transfer the dough to a slightly oiled bowl and let rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

4. Sift flour onto your work surface and over the dough. Gently stretch the dough onto your work surface, forming a rectangular shape. Divide the dough into two even pieces.

5. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and lightly dust the parchment with flour. Stretch each piece of dough very gently as you transfer it to the prepared baking sheet. Sift more flour over each loaf, and let rise for another hour.

6. Heat the oven to 475° F. Place a baking sheet in the lower third part of the oven and measure out three cups of ice cubes into a large bowl. Place the sheet with the bread onto the baking stone (if you have one), and immediately toss the ice onto the empty baking sheet. Close the oven, and bake until the loaves are deeply golden, 35 to 45 minutes. If the ciabatta is browning too quickly, lower the temperature to 400° F.

Variation:
Biga (12-18 hours ahead) :
1. For the biga, stir the water, bread flour, whole wheat flour and yeast together in a bowl with a wooden spoon until evenly blended (the biga will be dense). Cover and set this aside on the counter for 12-18 hours – the longer it sits, the better the flavor of the bread.

Dough:
1. For the dough, stir the biga and water in a large mixing bowl, so that the biga dissolves into it, for the most part. Add the flour, yeast and salt and mix this by hand with a wooden spoon. The batter will be very wet, not like a traditional bread dough that can be kneaded by hand on the counter – this will have to stay in the bowl. If you have a bowl scraper or even a silicone spatula, stretch and slap the dough against the side of the bowl for a few minutes to build up elasticity. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for 2 hours, until doubled in size. After the first hour, knock the dough down by patting it with a wooden spoon 4-5 times and then re-cover it.

2. Line 2 baking trays with parchment paper and dust them with flour. On a well-floured work surface, turn the dough out (it will be VERY stretchy and still sticky). Using your hands and lots of flour, divide the dough in half and shape each of the pieces into a rough rectangle about 1 ½-inches (3.5 cm) tall. Transfer each piece to a baking tray and let the dough rest for 30 minutes, uncovered.

3. Preheat the oven to 425 ºF (220 ºC). Dust the tops of the loaves with flour and bake the bread for about 20 minutes, until an even golden brown, then turn off the oven and leave the bread in for 10 minutes (this sets the crust). Remove the loaves from the baking trays to a cooling rack to cool at least 15 minutes before slicing.